Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
When It's All Been Said and Done
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I praise You for who You are, and for being worthy of my worship! I praise You for being the one, true God, who created the heavens and the earth. I thank You this day for all the blessings of life You have so freely bestowed upon me. I pray that You will fill me anew with Your Holy Spirit today that I may freely and gladly share the Good News of Jesus with all I meet. I pray that You will deepen my fellowship with other believers today that I may both encourage others and be encouraged in my walk with You. I pray that as I serve together with other brothers and sisters through Your Son, Jesus that You will increase the number of those who are currently lost who respond to Your grace and come to follow You. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Verses
Mark 8:34-48
34Then he (Jesus) called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 35If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. 36And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? 37Is anything worth more than your soul? 38If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels.”
Questions for Reflection
Today, we’re focusing on fellowship as we turn again to Mark 8:34-38. Consider the commands of Jesus, and how they impact our pursuit of the purpose of fellowship in our lives.
As you reflect on fellowship, how do you see fellowship itself as a setting aside of selfish ambition, as shouldering your cross, and as following Jesus?
What would be different about your fellowship, if you took Jesus’ command to set aside selfish ambition, shouldering your cross and following Him seriously all the time?
Questions for Exploration
What, if anything, does today’s Scripture teach us specifically about fellowship? (8:34-38)
Questions for Understanding
How can other Christians help you, and how can you be a help to other Christians as you seek to live out Jesus commands to set aside selfish ambition, shoulder your cross and follow Him each day?
How does this Scripture show us that Jesus values the purpose of fellowship?
Questions for Application
What aspect of fellowship will be strengthened in your life as a result of reading today’s Scripture?
Each Person's Cross...
Jesus makes it clear in today’s Scripture that each of us has a cross that is to be borne every single day. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t speaking of an actual, Roman executioner’s cross, because one may only bear that kind of cross one time! What Jesus wanted us to realize is that each of us will be given tasks in our service of Jesus that will be difficult to bear. In fact, they will require “dying” to ourselves, and becoming one with Him. When a person responds to Jesus’ invitation to be receive the salvation He offers, that person is “born again” to use Jesus’ own language. That “new” person may look the same and sound the same, but there IS a difference—an eternal difference. The difference is that in our new self, we have the ability to do what we couldn’t before—obey God. Whatever He tells us to do, we now CAN do. As someone has put it, “If we do what we can, God will do what we can’t!” We may think that the “cross” we are bearing right now is too difficult. We may look around and see others who don’t seem to have any cross at all. The reality is each of us has a cross to bear that is just the right “size” and “weight” for us. Jesus will never give us ore than we can handle or bear. The cross may be a difficult person with whom we must relate at school or work. The cross may be a passion that God has given us for a certain ministry or mission. The cross may be a some kind of emotional or spiritual burden that we must bear for a time. What our cross may be will change over time. The key is this: whatever God gives us in the present moment as our cross to bear, He will also give us the strength and courage to bear it. It may not be easy, sometimes it may seem impossible, but as long as we put Jesus first, He will give us the strength and courage we need to accomplish it. After all, the Bible teaches that God is able to do abundantly more than we can ever ask or imagine. That means that when we show up—God will show up more; when we give our best—God’s best will be even better. It means that while we may undergo suffering for a time in this present age in which we live—and sometimes that suffering is intense—Jesus has already one the ultimate victory, and it is only a matter of time until we will also have experience that victory. One of the bonuses of carrying our crosses as followers of Jesus is that He gives us brothers and sisters to help share the load, to prayer for us, and to encourage us. Christian fellowship is a great gift, because in partnering with one another, Jesus’ power is multiplied among us. Let us bear our crosses individually, to be sure, and let us bear them together, as well!
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.